4th Division

The history of 4th Division

This Division, initially planned to be part of the original British Expeditionary Force, was at the last minute held back in England to counter any German landing. A decision was soon taken to despatch it to France and it arrived just in time to play a valuble part at Le Cateau. The 4th Division then remained on the Western Front throughout the war. It took part in most of the major actions, including:

1914
The Battle of Le Cateau (The Division fought in this action without its Mounted Troops, Heavy Battery, Divisional Ammunition Column, Field Companies RE, Signals Company RE, Field Ambulances RAMC and Divisional Train, which were all still en route from England)
The Battle of the Marne
The Battle of the Aisne
The Battle of Armentières 1914

1915
The Second Battle of Ypres

1916
The Battle of Albert*
The Battle of Le Transloy*
The battles marked * are phases of the Battles of the Somme 1916

1917
The First Battle of the Scarpe**
The Third Battle of the Scarpe**
The battles marked ** are phases of the Battles of Arras 1917
The Battle of Polygon Wood***
The Battle of Broodseinde***
The Battle of Poelcapelle***
The First Battle of Passchendaele***
The battles marked *** are phases of the Third Battle of Ypres

1918
The First Battle of Arras 1918****
The battle marked **** is a phase of the First Battles of the Somme 1918
The Battle of Hazebrouck+ in which the battalion fought in the Defence of Hinges Ridge
The Battle of Bethune+
The battles marked + are phases of the Battles of the Lys
The Advance in Flanders
The Battle of the Scarpe+
The Battle of Drocourt-Queant+
The battles marked + are phases of the Second Battles of Arras 1918
The Battle of the Canal du Nord^
The battle marked ^ is a phase of the Battles of the Hindenburg Line
The Battle of the Selle++
The Battle of Valenciennes++
The battles marked ++ are phases of the Final Advance in Picardy

The Division was demobilised in Belgium in early 1919.

The order of battle of the 4th Division

10th Brigade

1st Bn, the Royal Warwickshire Regt

2nd Bn, the Seaforth Highlanders

1st Bn, the Royal Irish Fusiliers

left August 1917

2nd Bn, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers

left November 1916

1/7th Bn, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders

joined January 1915, left March 1916

1/9th Bn, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders

joined May 1915, left July 1915

The Household Battalion

joined November 1916, disbanded February 1918

3/10th Bn, the Middlesex Regt

joined August 1917, disbanded February 1918

2nd Bn, the Duke of Wellington’s

joined February 1918

10th Machine Gun Company

formed on 22 December 1915
left to move into 4th MG Battalion 26 February 1918

10th Trench Mortar Battery

formed June 1916

11th Brigade

1st Bn, the Somerset Light Infantry

1st Bn, the East Lancashire Regt

left February 1918

1st Bn, the Hampshire Regt

1st Bn, the Rifle Brigade

1/5th Bn, the London Regt (LRB)

joined November 1914, left May 1915

2nd Bn, the Royal Irish Regt

joined July 1915, left May 1916

11th Machine Gun Company

formed on 23 December 1915
left to move into 4th MG Battalion 26 February 1918

11th Trench Mortar Battery

formed in June 1916

12th Brigade

This Brigade was attached to 36th (Ulster) Division between 4 November 1915 and 3 February 1916 in exchange for 107th Brigade

1st Bn, the King’s Own (Lancaster)

2nd Bn, the Lancashire Fusiliers

2nd Bn, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

left December 1914

2nd Bn, the Essex Regt

1/2nd Bn, the Monmouthshire Regt

joined November 1914, left January 1916 but absent May to July 1915

1/5th Bn, the South Lancashire Regt

joined February 1915, left January 1916

2nd Bn, the Royal Irish Regt

joined March 1915, left July 1915

2nd Bn, the Duke of Wellington’s

joined January 1916, left February 1918

12th Brigade Machine Gun Company

formed on 24 January 1916
left to move into 4th MG Battalion 26 February 1918

12th Trench Mortar Battery

formed 11 June 1916

107th Brigade

This Brigade joined from 36th (Ulster) Division in temporary exchange for 12th Brigade (see above)

Divisional Troops

21st Bn, the West Yorkshire Regt

joined as Divisional Pioneer Battalionin June 1916

234th Company, the Machine Gun Corps

joined 16 July 1917
left to move into 4th MG Battalion 26 February 1918

11 Entrenching Battalion

formed 20 February 1918 from troops from disbanded 3/10th Middlesex Regt

No 4 Battalion, the Machine Gun Corps

formed 26 February 1918

Divisional Mounted Troops

B Squadron, the 19th Hussars

left April 1915

A Sqn, the 1/st Northamptonshire Yeomanry

joined 13 April 1915, left 11 May 1916

4th Company, Army Cyclist Corps

left June 1916

Divisional Artillery

XIV Brigade, RFA

left January 1917

XXIX Brigade, RFA

XXXII Brigade, RFA

XXXVII (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA

left February 1915

CXXVII (Howitzer) Brigade

left May 1916

4th Divisional Ammunition Column RFA

31st Heavy Battery RGA

left April 1915

No 4 Pom-Pom Section RGA

attached 20 September 1914 to January 1915

No 2 Mountain Battery RGA

attached 14 December 1914 to 21 April 1915

V.4 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery RFA

formed by July 1916, left 8 February 1918

X.4, Y.4 and Z.4 Medium Mortar Batteries RFA

joined in February 1916; on 8 February 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch weapons each

Royal Engineers

7th Field Company

left April 1915

9th Field Company

1st (West Lancashire) Field Company

joined February 1915, left February 1916

1st (Durham) Field Company

joined September 1915, later renamed 526th Field Company RE

1st (Renfrew) Field Company

joined May 1916, renamed 406th Field Company RE

4th Divisional Signals Company

Royal Army Medical Corps

10th Field Ambulance

11th Field Ambulance

12th Field Ambulance

4th Sanitary Section

joined as 3A Section 20 February 1915, renamed in April 1916, left 29 March 1917

Other Divisional Troops

4th Divisional Train ASC

18, 25, 32, 38 Companies

4th Mobile Veterinary Section AVC

207th Divisional Employment Company

joined 17 May 1917 at which time it was 4th Divisional Employment Company; renamed in June 1917

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